Dinner and Drinks: Seared Pork Tenderloin With A Mushroom (beef) Demi-glace (And Extra-Special Secret Bonus Recipe Inside!)

It's been a while since I posted any recipes (or much of anything, to be honest). No particular reason; I'm just a busy man what with fixing up the house, being a dad, fighting crime, etc.

However, I still try to find time to cook and this Friday was no exception. I like to buy those huge pork tenderloins that go on sale at the grocery store once every couple of months or so because, hey, five pounds of pork tenderloin for $7. I cut it up into smaller portions for freezing. Some of it goes into a bag marked "stir fry", but some of it I cut into inch-and-a-quarter slabs. Like a pork filet mignon.

Since it's been a while since I posted one of these, I thought I'd turn a double play (baseball season!) and let you in on a 100% original recipe for potato pancakes.

Seared Pork Tenderloin with a Mushroom (Beef) Demi-glace and Potato Pancakes

For pork:

salt
black pepper
chili powder
tarragon
1 tbsp olive oil

For potato pancakes:

4-6 medium potatoes
1/2 stick of butter (melted)
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp salt
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
oil

For mushroom (beef) demi-glace

8 oz mushrooms
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/4 cups beef stock
1/4 cup red wine
1 tsp salt
1 tsp tarragon

Note: I strongly urge you to read this whole post before starting. There's a lot going on and some of it should overlap if you want everything to come out at roughly the same time. There's also some stuff about oven-safe skillets and other things that may sound boring at first. But if you've ever put a skillet in an oven only to find out it was meant for the stove top only, you know it's important.

Season the pork on both sides with the spices listed. If you cut your tenderloins as thick as I do (again, about and inch and a quarter), be generous with the spices.

Let's get the sauce started. In a saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Once it's melted, whisk in the flour until smooth. Put the pan back on the burner and increase the heat to medium. Add the stock, wine and spices. Stir well and add the mushrooms. Use whatever kind you want. I had portobellas on hand, so there you go.

Once the sauce starts to boil, reduce heat and simmer. The sauce should thicken as it simmers, so stir frequently. If it starts to get too thick for your liking, add small amounts of beef stock until it reaches the desired consistency. The longer it simmers, the better it will be, so let it simmer on as you prepare the rest of the meal.

Now to the pork. If you have really thick tenderloins, pre-heat your oven to 350º. If your pork loins are more like pork chops, you can finish them on the stove, so forget about the oven.

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat until it just starts to smoke. Turn the heat down to medium, or be prepared for (1) burned tenderloins and (2) a very greasy stovetop. Immediately add the tenderloins to the oil, pressing down firmly for a couple of seconds. This will help make a nice sear.

Thick cuts: Cook for about 3 minutes on a side, making sure your sear looks good before you flip 'em. Once seared, move the skillet to the oven (make sure your skillet can be used in the oven -- if not, transfer the contents of the skillet to an oven-safe baking dish). Cook for another 8-12 minutes or until it reaches desired doneness.

Thin cuts: Cook until the sear looks good. This shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes or so. Flip when the sear looks good and repeat on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium-low and finish the cooking process.

Now onto the potato pancakes. A note on the potatoes: russets work just fine. I happened to have red potatoes on hand, so I used a few more as they're pretty small. Peel, wash, and grate the potatoes into a mixing bowl. You may notice that there is a lot of liquid in the potatoes. You can squeeze them and pat them dry with paper towels if you like. I've found that there's still a lot of liquid when it comes time to make the cakes, so I don't bother. But you do what you want; you have the power here.

Add all the other ingredients and mix thoroughly. I use my hands, but again, you do what you want.

Heat enough oil in a skillet to cover the bottom 1/2 inch over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, take a handful of the potato mixture and squeeze out the excess liquid. Form into small cakes (they should be about the size of hockey pucks). Place in the oil and fry until the bottoms are golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Flip and repeat. Once they are done, put them on some paper towels to soak up any excess oil.

I had a glass of a 2010 Cupcake Vineyards Malbec with this meal. Okay, I had a glass while I was preparing it too, and a glass afterwards to celebrate how well it all turned out. It was a lot fruitier than a lot of the malbecs I've tried, but overall it was pretty decent. Generally if I want something that fruity I get a zinfandel though. Still, for $11 it was not bad at all. Very smooth. I would recommend something a little spicer for this meal though.

Dinner and Drinks: Crockpot Chili

When the weather starts to cool off in the fall, our thoughts usually turn to outdoor projects we try to avoid in the heat of summer. Recently we realized we couldn't put off raking leaves any longer and so, on a cool (~55°F) Saturday we filled bags (and bags and bags) full of leaves. And for good measure, I cleaned the gutters.

Thankfully I had the foresight to chill some beer in the fridge and start some chili in the crockpot before we went outside. There's nothing better than coming inside after a long day of working in the yard to a house that smells like a chili truck exploded. Except maybe knowing the fridge is full of cold beer.

Crockpot Chili

1 lb ground beef
1 large can of red or black beans
6 oz of tomato paste (one of those little cans)
32 oz can of tomato sauce
14 oz can of diced tomatoes
1/2 a large onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
4 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp salt (divided)
1 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper

If you can get good fresh tomatoes, by all means use them. Donna's parents can them so we get fresh stuff year round. But a crockpot can cover a lot of sins, and canned tomato sauce is one of them.

The trick to good crockpot chili is to hold off on adding the hamburger until you plan to eat. If you've ever put hamburger in a crockpot and let it slow cook, you've undoubtedly noticed that it tastes... wrong. The texture gets all mushy and that's no good.

So, set the hamburger, allspice, black and white pepper, and half the salt aside. Everything else goes into the crockpot on high for one hour. (Remember to drain the excess liquid from the beans. No one wants bean juice in the chili.) Then turn it to low and forget about it. Well, you can stir it once in awhile if you want. Maybe gaze at it longingly while you drink beer. Not that I would do that.

Let it slow cook for at least 6 hours. The longer it cooks the better. When you can't stand to wait any longer, brown the ground beef in a skillet over medium heat. Season with all those spices you held in reserve. Add the ground beef to the crockpot and stir. Then crack a beer and enjoy.

Speaking of beer, on the crisp autumn evening I enjoyed a (okay several) Sam Adams Black Lager. I'm not a huge Sam Adams fan to be honest, but the black lager has a nice balance of maltiness and lightness. It's a beer you can chug a little after a day of toiling in the yard but still has a little bit of heft to it.

Dinner and Drinks: Cornbread

All southerners eat cornbread. It's codified in all southern state laws along with owning guns and listening to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Cornbread is great because it goes with so many things and is so easy to make.

That said, there are a millions different ways to make cornbread, and aficionados generally fall into two camps: dry or sweet. Let the proclamation ring forth this day that I am firmly in the dry camp. Cornbread should be dry and crumbly and have a texture reminicent of... well that's the thing. If you make it right, the texture is unlike anything else. If you want it sweet and cake-like, stop reading.

Cornbread

1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
margarine

Preheat the oven to 450°.

Grease a 10" baking pan with margarine. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl and whisk vigorously for thirty seconds. Pour the mixture into the pan. Bake in the oven until cooked all the way through (I use the old toothpick method), about 30-35 minutes.

As for cocktails, I made this as a side for my jambalaya (yeah, I eat a lot of that). That means a bottle (or three) of you favorite beer. You may remember that I like my jamabalaya hot.

Dinner and Drinks: Kitchen Sink Chorizo

I had no plan for dinner last night so I opened the freezer hoping something jumped out at me. A package of chorizo fell out an tried to break my toe. Close enough. What to do with it though? In the end I decided to start grabbing and chopping until I was tired and then see what I had. In the end what I had came to be called...

Kitchen Sink Chorizo

1 lb chorizo, cut up or ground
2 cups white rice
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 cup green chiles (chopped)
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tomato (diced)
1 can black beans
1 tsp cilantro (2 if using fresh)
2 tsp salt (divided)
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp butter or margarine

Cook the rice according to package directions. Once done, mix in the butter and 1 tsp salt. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, peppers and onion. Mix in the remaining seasonings. Sautè for about five minutes. Add the chorizo and brown on all sides. Add the chicken stock, beans, tomatoes and chiles. Reduce the liquid over high heat for about 5-7 minutes, or until it reaches desired thickness.

Serve over the rice.

That's it. Pretty uninspiring that. Just cut everything up and throw it in a pan. No fancy plans, no culinary genius. What can I say? It was Sunday night and I was tired.

In keeping with the whole spontanaeity of it all, I paired this dish with a Breckinridge Vanilla Porter. The heavyness of the beer worked, through the vanilla really couldn't shine in a dish like this. I'd better have another to confirm that theory, however.

Dinner and Drinks: Chicken Marengo

Chicken Marengo is one of those dishes that takes a little while to make, though it's mostly simmering this and baking that, so it's not actually hard, per se. It's really fun to make though, as you can drink lots of wine during the process and it makes the house smell incredible.

It is was supposedly one of Napoleon's favorite dishes, so it may stunt your growth. Studies are inconclusive.

Chicken Marengo

6 chicken breasts (or a whole chicken, skinned and cut up)
1 medium onion (sliced thin)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1/2 tsp thyme (dried, double if using fresh)
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup mushrooms (sliced thin)
1/2 cup black olives (sliced)
1/4 cup butter
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 oz brandy
salt and pepper

Sautè the onions in the olive oil over medium-high heat until soft. Remove and set aside. Brown the chicken on all sides in the same pan. Add the wine, chicken stock, tomatoes, garlic and thyme and simmer, covered, for about a half hour. Make sure the chicken is done, as it won't spend too much time in the oven later. I turn the chicken halfway through but that's not law or anything.

You've got an hour to kill now, so drink some wine. I'm sipping on some Clos du Bois chardonnay, which is a dry white wine that I think goes well with chicken. I used it in the recipe as well, though you can use cooking wine if you prefer the extra sodium. I don't think this recipe needs it though.

When you've got about fifteen minutes left, preheat your oven to 350°, top off your wine glass and get a sautè pan going with the butter and lemon juice. Soften the mushrooms in it. After that, remove the chicken and set aside. Strain the sauce out of the pan, discarding the solids. Add the liquid back to the pan and reduce it for about 5 minutes on high heat.

Put the chicken, mushrooms, onions, olives in a casserole dish. Sprinkle a shot of brandy over the whole thing and add the sauce. Heat in the oven until everything is nice and heated. That's it: you're done!

I like to keep this meal light, so I make a little spaghetti-type pasta, tossing it with a little butter and salt, then spooning some of the sauce over the top. Ridiculously good.

Dinner and Drinks: Special Sauce Edition

This was a bad week for cooking. I made dinner Monday night, though I can't for the life of me remember what it was. Tuesday was soccer practice, so I took MJ to McDonalds, which is something I really hate doing, but time was against us. (A quick aside -- it's not that I don't like fast food. That's the problem; I love it. Because of that I try to avoid it like the plague. Sometimes it doesn't work out though.) Wednesday Donna had a hair appointment and I had an errand to run, so we grabbed some dinner out. Thursday we were taking the wedding band out to scope the venue, so we made some sandwiches and had a picnic after work. Friday MJ had a soccer game and after that we had tickets to the Redhawks game. Hello foot long chili dog and beer, goodbye nutrition.

So along comes Saturday and it's time to make something at home before I forget how. I'm in the mood for chicken, so I thaw some. MJ's been talking lately about how much she loves spinach dip, so it occurs to me that I could make a nice little sauce that, while no where near as thick as a dip, would still have the flavor. So I whip one up and she loved it.

Asiago Spinach Sauce

1/2 cup asiago cheese (grated)
1/2 cup of fresh spinach (chopped)
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 tsp salt

Okay, before we get into the sauce (which is super easy -- I don't know why I'm wasting your time with posting this, actually), a quick word about the chicken. I just cooked this in a little olive oil over high heat to sear it. I seasoned it with sea salt, fresh black pepper, chili powder and tarragon. I know that that combination might make you scratch your head. I have no doubt that if Gordon Ramsey were reading this, he would be sitting at his computer laughing and calling me clever things like "bloody tosser". That's okay. Believe me if you will: that combination worked.

As for the sauce, it starts with a classic cream base: melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir in the flour and whisk until blended. Add the cream and chicken stock and up the heat to medium-high. Be sure to keep whisking so that it doesn't clump. Once it start to boil, add the spinach, salt and garlic. Reduce the heat to medium low. If the sauce gets too thick you might need to add some more chicken stock. Basically, you want it to be thick enough so that it doesn't run all over the place, but not so thick that it won't run a bit when you put it on a plate. Think more gravy than syrup. Add the cheese just before you start plating.

Speaking of plating: I put a few tablespoons on the plate first, then place the chicken breast ever-so-lovingly on top. This sauce is very rich and flavorful; a little goes a long way. You definitely don't need to drown the chicken with it.

I cooked some fresh green beans in garlic, olive oil and a little white wine and whipped up some garlic mashed potatoes to round out the dish (I'll post that recipe some day). I also quartered some mushrooms and sauteèd them in a little butter and garlic (seasoning with a little salt and pepper) because, hey why not.

As for the drink part of this meal, I stayed true to my current obsession with malbecs. Tonight it was a 2008 Alamos. It was a pretty heavy wine, though it apparently isn't a pure malbec. According to this review it's got some cabernet in it. Whatever. It was actually pretty good. Very spicy and heavy. I got it for $10, so, hey, you can't go wrong. I'm still drinking it as I type this so make of that what you will.

Dinner and Drinks: Tapenade with Mushrooms

On the list of things I never thought a (then) eight year old girl would love, tapenade would have to be number one with a bullet. It's all the things I hated as a kid: it's unappealing to look at, it has a strong odor of olives, its contains ingredients I had never heard of (capers) that look like miniture peas, bane of my young existence. Then you smear it on bread. There is no way I would have eaten this as a child. MJ loves it, showing once again that she is a smarter kid than I ever was.

This isn't a meal of course. It's an appetizer/finger food. Despite the fancy name it's actually very simple to make. It has a consistency something like caviar, and even looks a bit like it. Rest assured there's no fish eggs in here though. That would be gross.

Tapenade with Mushrooms

Six pieces of french bread, about 4-6 inches long
1 cup portobello mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 cup kalamata olives (or your favorite)
3/4 tbsp capers
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp thyme
3 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp butter

salt
pepper
oregano
fresh parsley (chopped)

Over medium heat melt the butter. Sauteè the mushrooms, sprinkling with salt, pepper and oregano, until soft, about 4-6 minutes. In a small bowl mix 2 tbsp of olive oil and the balsmic vinegar. Submerge the mushrooms (you may want to let them cool first) in the liquid. Cover and refrigerate for at least a 1/2 hour (overnight doesn't hurt; the longer they soak the more flavor they'll retain).

In a food processor combine the olives, remaining oil, garlic, thyme, capers and lemon juice. Pureè until smooth. That's it; you made tapenade!

You can let that set for a bit while you melt some butter or margarine in a microwave. Brush on to your bread and sprinkle with some more oregano. Place in an oven (or toaster oven) and toast that bread until it's a little crispy. Spread the tapenade in a thin layer on the bread (a little goes a long way) and top with the mushrooms. Sprinkle a little chopped parsley and impress your friends.

Tapenade is fun to make because it's easy; you don't have to chop anything. That means it's a simple matter to enjoy some wine while you throw everything in the food processor. Tonight I tried a new one, Red Guitar red. It's another in a long line of $10-$14 wines I grab when I'm at the liquor store. It's "a blend of Tempranillo and Garnacha" that has a "rich, powerful flavors, ripe fruit, and a passion capable of warming the heart even in the cool recesses of the cellar". Whatever. It was okay, but it really seemed to me to be a light fruity merlot. It had that consistency anyway. It's not bad, but for the money I can get some Root: 1 cabernet which is much better.

Dinner and Drinks: Pan Seared Walleye

Fish frys are great. But sometimes you get a filet so fat that deep frying it violates local ordinances and another method is called for. When those occasions arise, pan searing is a great way to go. It's pretty simple to do and you get some great taste out of few ingredients. You want the fish to be the star.

Pan Seared Walleye

walleye fillets (or heck, use whatever fish you want)
olive oil
salt
pepper
paprika

(optional)
two roma tomatoes (diced)
1 small onion (diced)
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp tarragon

Season the fish with the salt, pepper and paprika. Pour a bit of olive oil into a skillet and heat on medium high to high. You want the oil to be hot. Use enough so that the fish will submerge about a third of the way. If the oil starts smoking, it's past time you got started. Place the fish down and press with a spatula. You hear a lot that this squeezes all the juice out of meats and fishes, but when pan searing you want to get a nice, well, sear on it. Pressing it down for a couple of seconds helps with that. Don't squeeze the life out of it, just press it a bit.

How long to cook on each side depends on how thick the filet is. It shouldn't take too long, however. The filet in the picture above took about 3-4 minutes per side and came out perfect. If that looks good to you, then you're done. Enjoy!

Otherwise, you can heat a teaspoon of olive oil in another skillet on medium-high. Add some minced garlic and sauteè for about 30 seconds. Add some diced onions and sauteè again -- while reducing the heat to medium-low -- for about 2 minutes or until the onions begin to soften. Add some diced roma tomatoes, tarragon, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep cooking for another 3-5 minutes, or until the tomatoes are softened but still firm. Spoon it on top of the fish and take it to the next level.

Normally for a companion wine I'd suggest a dry chardonnay. But I just got back from a week long fishing trip during which I drank entirely too much alcohol. With this dish I had a giant glass of skim milk.

Dinner and Drinks: Savory Sausage and Rice

One food that I have come to love --LOVE-- in all its glorious forms is sausage. Nothing brightens up a stew or adds the same character to a pasta dish as a good sausage. When I answered Donna's "what's for dinner" by asking for suggestions, she wondered what what we had available in the sausage department. Ignoring the obvious dirty comeback, I started rooting through the freezer. What I found was some wild rice sausage we bought from Thielen's. I've never had it, but I thought it was high time I fixed that.

Savory Sausage and Rice

3 links of your favorite sausage
2 cups of rice
1 cup beef broth
8 oz mushrooms (sliced)
2 green onions (sliced)
2 tbsp corn starch (dissolved in 2 cups of cold water)
2 tsp tarragon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp olive oil

 
First, get your corn starch mixed in cold water. Important safety tip: corn starch will not mix with hot liquids. Trust me on this. You can't add it to the broth later unless you want little white lumps of corn starch floating around. How much you need to use ultimately depends on how thick you want the sauce.
 
Get the beef broth cooking in a large skillet on high heat so it will reduce. Add the spices, mushrooms and green onions. Keep reducing until about half the liquid is gone, or until it gets to the consistency you crave. At the same time...
 
In a separate skillet heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Brown the sausage on all sides. You don't need it to cook all the way through. Slice it and add it to the broth. Reduce the heat on the broth to a simmer. Let it simmer for a while (the longer it does, the more tasty it gets. Cook the rice according to the package directions. Serve the sausage and mushrooms over the rice.
 
I sauteèd some asparagus tips to go along with it. Heat some olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Add the asparagus and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss it around and keep it moving so it doesn't burn. It should just start to go limp. Get it off the heat immediately and serve as it will keep cooking  even off the heat.
 
I accompanied this dish with a Fat Tire, which is a great Belgian amber ale. To me it tastes like a Newcastle Brown ale with a tootsie roll in it. Really good beer, especially when paired with a savory meat dish like this.

Dinner and Drinks: Mushrooms with Italian Stuffing

I do a lot of my experimenting on the weekends since I have more time. I also like to eat dinner late. Unfortunately, the others members of my household don't. Fortunately, they are easily pacified with some good finger food. One really good recipe I have is for stuffed mushrooms. It keeps the troops satisfied until I can whip up something more plate-filling after the sun goes down.

Mushrooms with Italian Stuffing

Some nice, big, stuffable mushrooms (or heck, a lot of little ones)
1/2 cup pancetta (chopped)
1 cup red onion (chopped)
2 cups bread, cut into cubes
1 cup milk
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
8 oz spinach (chiffonaded)
1/2 cup asiago cheese (grated)
salt
red pepper flakes (a pinch)
olive oil

First, the bread. Use whatever makes you happy. Tonight I used baguette bread. I used about 3/4 of the loaf, which got me to two cups. I scooped out the soft middle and then cut the harder crust into small pieces. This can soak in the milk for awhile. Make sure you mush it up real good.

For the mushrooms, use whatever kind you want as well. I had some plain old big button mushrooms. Those giant portabella caps work great. If your mushroom have stems, tear them out. I chopped them up and added them to the pan later. If your mushrooms have those ridges inside that look like the blades on a radiator, scoop those out with a spoon. Trust me.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat enough oil to coat the pan. Add the pancetta (if you don't want to pay for pancetta, I hear you; use bacon instead) and cook until it browns, about 5 minutes. Add the onions and cook until soft, about three minutes. If you've got mushroom stems from earlier throw them in there too. Add the garlic and pinch of red pepper. Stir and cook for another two minutes. Remove from the heat. While still hot from the stove, add the spinach and stir, wilting the leaves.

Add the pan's contents along with the cheese to the bread and milk mixture, stirring thoroughly with a fork. Add salt to taste (around a teaspoon works).

I take a cookie sheet and cover it with aluminum foil. Then I rub some margarine all over it. Stuff the mushroom caps with the stuffing and place on the cookie sheet. Cook for 30-40 minutes in a 350° oven and you're done.

I tried something called Apothic Red with these, and it worked pretty well. According to the bottle, it's a "masterful blend of rich Zinfandel, flavorful Syrah, and smooth Merlot." I don't know about all that. It was a pretty good little wine though, and it was definitely smooth. I recommend it if you want to try something new in the $11-$12 range.

As for the main course tonight, I just whipped up a little chicken fettucine and salad. I'll save that one for a future entry. Until then, spero vi piaccia i funghi.

Dinner and Drinks: Chicken Quesadillas and Spanish Rice

You know what's good? Mexican food. There's nothing quite like authentic Mexican cuisine. Spicy, flavorful, filling. Mexican food is one of my favorites. I don't know how to make real Mexican food, so what I'm going to talk about here is not that. Sorry. Like most Americans, I think Mexican food consists of tacos, fajitas, and made-up words like most of what passes for the menu at Taco Bell.

That's okay though, since Americanized Mexican cuisine can still be pretty good. A quick and easy meal is the good old quesadilla. It's basically a Mexican pizza in that you can put whatever you want on it, so it's great for kids. Since it's not fast food if you get a side dish that isn't french fries, I tried to make spanish rice for the first time, and damned if it didn't turn out delicious.

Sorry, this is not the greatest picture. I blame the wine.

Chicken Quesadillas and Spanish Rice


Quesasdillas:

8 large soft tortillas
2 skinless chicken breasts
1 cup black olives, sliced
1 onion, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup jalapenos, diced (optional)
1 cup Mexican cheese blend
3 tbsp olive oil

Rice:

2 cups rice
2 cups water
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup onions, diced
1/2 cup green peppers, diced
1 large tomato, pulp removed, diced
1 tbsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350^o.

For the chicken, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Season the chicken as you like; I use salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder. Once it's done, cut into small cubes and set aside. I have a second skillet going to cook the the peppers and onions, but do as you will. I add a little dash of cumin to the veggies, but that's optional. Sauteè those veggies until they start to turn soft.

For the tortillas, you can use them "as is" and still be regarded as awesome by your patrons. I heat a large skillet and drop a little canola oil in it, wiping the excess out with a paper towel. Heat the oil and cook the tortilla for one minute a side. You want it to firm up a little without getting crunchy.

Spread the veggies and chicken on a tortilla. Spread some shredded cheese over everything and cover with another tortilla. I heartily encourage using fresh shredded cheese whenever possible. Tonight all I had that would really work was some bagged Mexican blend cheese. Don't judge me.

Before you pop the quesadillas into the oven, start making the rice in that same large skillet you cooked the tortillas in. Add the olive oil and heat it up over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, peppers and onions and sauteè until the begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add the water, spices and tomato paste and mix thoroughly. Bring to a boil and add the rice. If you're using Minute Rice, make sure it is at a boil then remove from heat. Stir continuously until the rice is soft, about 3-5 minutes. If you're using regular white rice, add it then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes covered, or until rice is tender.

The quesadillas need to go into the oven for about 10-12 minutes to get the cheese nice and melty.

Once done, I quarter the quesadillas and serve with a dollop sour cream dusted with cilantro. If I had it to do over, I probably would have tried to make some salsa. Oh well. I made rice; get off my back.

For the 'drink' portion, I stayed on the malbec kick I've been on for a while now. I bought a bottle of Layer Cake malbec. I'm not one of those people who thinks you have to drink red wine with red meat and white wine with fish; the bottle was open so I drank it. It's probably not the ideal pairing, but it was pretty good. To be honest, I think it finished a little better than the Red Rock malbec I had with the chicken parmesan, but overall I think the Red Rock is a better wine, especially since it's about $4 cheaper, but to each his own. The Layer Cake had one of those little tags on it with a score from some snobby wine ranker or other, so I wanted to try it. Not bad at all. Now that I think about it, I should have a beer.

Drink Up: Old Fashioned

This drink is one of my favorites (ed. note: aren't they all? me: no, shut up). Though it's saddled with a name that isn't a siren song to college kids and "hip" Sex and the City fans, it's every bit as sophisticated as the martini and takes just as much attention to detail.

That said, like the martini, it is a drink for people who really like alcohol. In other words, it's not a girls-night-out fruity drink (though it does contain fruit). This is also one of the harder drinks to get in a bar and have it look and taste right. True story -- the best Old Fashioned I ever had in a bar was about ten years ago at a freakin' Red Lobster.

Here's the recipe:

2.5 oz bourbon
1/2 oz water

1/2 orange slice (fairly thick)

1-2 cherries

1/4 tsp sugar

In a rocks glass, pour the water and sugar, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Add the orange slice and the cherry to the bottom of the glass.

Add the bourbon. Use your favorite of course, but this recipe is where I like to break out the Wild Turkey. Jack Daniels works well. Jim Beam is a notch below, in my opinion, but it works.

Stir, add ice and enjoy. Even with the sugar and the fruit, this drink is very potent, but if you like bourbon, that's a good thing.

Who Wants Hashbrowns? (with Guestblogger BlandMan124789)

Hey, thanks to Jay for letting me guest blog today. He's real busy with the "making software" and the "cursing SharePoint", so he asked me to do a post. At first, I didn't know what to post about, but then it hit me: hashbrowns! Everybody loves 'em. Everybody eats 'em. And everybody wants to know how I make 'em (at least, they will once they see how I do it!).

The secret to good hash browns (any good dish, really) is salt. Or, more specifically, a glaring lack thereof. Nothing ruins potatoes more than having a sufficient amount of salt. Have you ever put a forkful of hashbrowns in your mouth and though, "whoa. Enough with the salt already, mister 'chef' guy. If I wanted all that flavor I'd ask for it". Happens to me all the time. It's the reason behind my boycott of Denny's. Well, that and the time my hamsteak was blue.

So, light salt (preferably none). What else? One word: consistency. Hash browns are supposed to be a close (you might say kissin' if you were a perv) cousin of mashed potatoes. And I'm not talking about skin-on homemade mashed potatoes with all the lumps. I'm talkin' about Hungry Jack when you don't have enough flakes in the box for all the liquid you heated up. I'm talkin' grits. When you see someone spoon hashbrowns onto a plate and they stick together in a single flat, stiff latticework of shredded starch, you know you're getting them from an idiot.

Hashbrowns should be eaten with a spoon.

-- BlandMan124789

Drink Up: Martini

This is a new little thing I'm trying out. As you may know, booze is like the son I never had. I love a good drink, and I'll drink almost anything: bourbon, whiskey, gin, vodka, tequila, rum, brandy; it's all good.

I feel a little selfish keeping all this drinking expertise to myself when it could do so much good for mankind. So for this inaugural installment I'm going to explain how to make a martini the right way. What's 'the right way'? Here's a hint: James Bond is a bad dude, but he doesn't know how to make a martini.

There are a few basic truths about martinis that everyone should know. These are not negotiable:

1. Martinis are made with gin.
2. They have only one other ingredient: vermouth.
3. You stir a martini.

Once you accept those three things, you are ready to make a martini. Note that there is absolutely nothing wrong with a vodka martini; I love them, myself. But if you order a martini in a bar it should be gin. If you want vodka, order a vodka martini. Okay then.

Beyond that, you've got some choices. Do you like your martinis dry? Wet? Perfect? Dirty? Except for that last, those are all just terms that describe what kind of vermouth you like. Dry indicates the use of dry vermouth, whereas wet calls for sweet. Perfect is a blend of the two. Dirty involves adding a dash of olive juice. The resulting cloudiness is what birthed the term.

On a few occasions I was called upon to help out behind the bar at Seasons At Rose Creek, the fancy restaurant I worked at while in college. This is where I perfected my personal recipe:

2 oz Bombay Sapphire
1/2 oz dry vermouth
1 olive (as garnish)

A couple things: the garnish is not an ingredient, so I don't violate rule #2 above. Also, while you should certainly choose your own gin, personally I highly recommend Sapphire. If you can't get that, Beefeater is also high on my list. Use Tanqueray only if drinking distilled pine cones is your thing. Seriously. Most people who tell me they don't like gin complain about the piney taste. It shows that their only experience with the stuff is Tanqueray. Don't drink Tanqueray. I can't stress this enough.

Back to the recipe. If you don't chill your gin, then shame on you. All is not lost though; you can still save the situation. Add the vermouth to a martini glass. Swirl the vermouth around the glass until the inside is thoroughly coated. Dump the vermouth out. It has served its purpose.

Pour the gin into a shaker or glass of ice and stir it. Don't shake it; it waters down the gin too much. Strain the gin into the martini glass. Add the olive (impaled on your most fabulous garnish spear). Congratulations! You've just made a ridiculously good (and very dry) martini.

Drink three or four of those watch your self-esteem and confidence soar (while your motor skills. depth perception and enunciation plummet like America's credit rating).

I Could Go For Some Jambalaya (Updated)

I don't post recipes much because I don't want to step on Alyssa's toes over at Angel in the Kitchen. After my last recipe post I got a brick through my window with a note that read, "stick to teh (sic) funny or my next stew will be made out of you". Message received. You don't mess with the gourmet mafia.

That said, I'm going to risk her terrible wrath to share my jambalaya recipe, which originated I'm-not-sure-where (though it was probably from the intertubes) and tweaked a bit to make it more Pocket Jacks-friendly:

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large onion (chopped)
2 large green bell peppers (chopped)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 - 2 pounds andouille or other fully cooked smoked sausage, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper
2 cups long-grain white rice
2-3 cups canned low-salt chicken broth

Preparation:
Heat oil in large pot over high heat. Add chicken and cook until brown on all sides. Transfer chicken to platter.

Reduce heat to medium-high; add onion, bell peppers, parsley and garlic to pot. Sauté until onions are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add sausage, chili powder, thyme, and cayenne pepper; sauté until spices are fragrant and flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

Add rice; stir to coat.

Pour broth over rice mixture in pot. Add chicken; press to submerge in liquid.

Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until liquid is absorbed, rice is tender and chicken is cooked through, about 30-35 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper if desired. Serve hot. [Ed. note: Also serve with a strong beer.]

Update: This recipe is pretty hot, especially if you use a hotter sausage (like andouille, which is what I use). If you want to tone it down you have two options: (1) reduce the cayenne by at least half, or (2) have more beer in the fridge. I usually opt for (2), but to each his own.

The Baconator? That's For Wusses.

I am so going to make this someday. The trick is to time it shortly before I die so the impact to my health is minimized.

Etou(fee), Brute?

I cracked open the 75th anniversary edition of The Joy of Cooking for the first time and made shrimp etoufee. Good stuff. I finally got to make a roux, which isn't all that exciting except that I love to say "roux" (Raggy! I found a roux!... Hey gang, Scooby found a clue!).

It turned out very well. Since I made a few changes to the recipe, I can share it:

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Peel and de-vein 1 lb shrimp

Toss with:

1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

Set shrimp aside.

In a large skillet mix 3 tbsp of olive oil and flour over medium heat. Stir constantly until the roux(!) turns a dark brown (about 20 minutes). Stir in:

1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 - 1 lbs of chopped andouille sausage (can substitute smoked sausage, but get the andouille)

Stir until the vegetables are browned, about 5-6 minutes, then add:

2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme

Stir for about 1 minute then stir in:

2 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp of your favorite hot sauce

Stir, bringing to a simmer. Remember those shrimp you coated earlier, how they called to you? Throw them in that skillet and return to a simmer. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. Add a 1/4 cup of parsley.
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I served it over a bed of white rice with some baked baguette bread and a bottle of Riesling. It was worth the time.